Choi Joo-hwan, Solver's Instinct, RBI in 7 consecutive games... Add weight to Kiwoom's batting lineup with quiet explosive power
Choi Joo-hwan, Solver's Instinct, RBI in 7 consecutive games... Add weight to Kiwoom's batting lineup with quiet explosive power
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Veteran infielder Choi Joo-hwan (37) is playing a quiet but powerful troubleshooter in the Kiwoom Heroes lineup, where foreign players' performances are drawing attention.
Choi has an impressive batting average of 0.412 (14 hits in 34 at-bats), one homer and 10 RBIs in eight games this season. In particular, seven of his 14 hits are long balls (six doubles and one homer), which are so powerful that they are destructive. His most remarkable performance was his RBI streak in seven consecutive games. He failed to post an RBI only in the game against the Daegu Samsung Lions on March 22, the opening game, and brought home runners in all seven games since then. At the game against the Gocheok SSG Landers on March 30, when his team lost 2-8, he hit a timely hit at the last at-bat in the eighth inning, continuing his RBI streak in consecutive games. The KBO League record in this category is the 13th consecutive game RBI set by Kim Jae-hwan (Doosan Bears) in 2017.
Choi Joo-hwan said, "The pace came up better than I thought at the opening," adding, "There are many good hitters in the Warnak team. Song Seong-moon is also in the fourth batter's box, and Lee Ju-hyung is also good at batting second. Even if I am not good at hitting, the thought that another batter will solve it leads to good synergy."
This season, Choi Joo-hwan is mainly the fifth batter and is in charge of sweeping RBIs in situations where he is in the top scoring position. His main task is to bring home runners who are the strongest in the league, from No. 1 to No. 4 batting order in the league, which includes Yasiel Puig, Lee Ju-hyung, Ruben Cardinez and Song Sung-moon.
"Puig and Cardinez are completely different in personality and disposition. Instead, the synergy effect is certain," Choi Joo-hwan, who mentioned, "I've been hitting No. 5 since the camp, and I thought there would be a lot of chances in this batting order. I decided to concentrate as much as I could and concentrate on connecting the scoring opportunities to the points," he explained about his role.
In his late 30s, Choi was confident that he had no physical problems. "I've been preparing for the offseason exactly the same for the past three years. I've learned how to take good care of my body rather than decrease my athletic ability every year," Choi said. He also expressed his ambition to play active until his 40s.
"Choi Hyung-woo is a good guide, and so is Kang Min-ho. I want to be such a good guide to younger juniors by showing his role model and future vision at the same time.
This season, Kiwoom was evaluated as the "lowest candidate" by many experts, but Choi Joo-hwan showed a determined will to make this season's team slogan of "the beginning of the challenge" a reality. 안전놀이터
"I like this year's catchphrase. I try to make it come true by reading each word on the field," Choi said. "This year, we don't look at lower-level teams, from coaches to younger juniors. If we depend on each other and overcome them as we do now, we will be able to finish with good results. I will prove it with results."